Medicinal Chemistry of Carbazole Alkaloids: Synthesis of claurailas and analogs targeting new antileishmanial compounds

Abstract

The leishmaniasis is a neglected disease that affects millions of people worldwide, mainly in tropical countries. This disease is caused by Leishmania spp., and has two clinical form: cutaneous and visceral. Currently there are few therapeutic options for this disease, and the search for new drugs has been the subject of research. In this scenario recent studies showed carbazoles alkaloids active against Leishmania donovani. The carbazole Clauraila A, recently isolated and with antitumor activity already described, is an interesting subject to search against leishmaniasis, since have a very similar chemical structure of Lansine, a carbazole active against Leishmania. Combining the active potential of carbazoles and molecular modification techniques, this work aims at the synthesis of natural compound Clauraila A and active analogues against the parasite Leishmania, evaluating the relationship between chemical structure and biological activity of these compounds.